On March 14, Parliament's legal committee approved the first reading of a draft bill on amnesty that could free up to 2000 prisoners.
As The Sofia Echo reported on January 26, the bill was prepared by the Justice Ministry. Deputy Justice Minister Dimitar Bongalov said that the main reason for the bill was Bulgaria's entry to the European  Union.

The committee vote on the bill has deepened the controversy surrounding it. Although the draft bill went through to the second stage of discussion, this "victory" by Justice Minister Georgi Petkanov was solely the result of having the right number of votes, rather than the support of all MPs. The draft bill was supported by MPs from the tripartite ruling coalition of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), the National Movement Simeon II (NMSII) and Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). All opposition MPs in the 26-member committee voted against it.

There was also a sign that the bill was not fully welcomed by the BSP. BSP MP Nadya Antonova voted against, and committee chairperson Yanaki Stoilov, also from the BSP, abstained from voting.

The problem, opposition MPs said, was that the draft bill does not treat all prisoners equally. According to the approved text, amnesty will be granted to people sentenced for having committed premeditated crimes and currently serving light sentences of up to three years. Also eligible for amnesty will be prisoners sentenced to up to five years on unpremeditated crimes. All pending court cases should be closed, the document says. The draft bill provides for amnesty for repeat offenders convicted of lesser crimes who currently have no more than three months left of their sentence. Petkanov told MPs that no more than 300 repeat offenders would be set free as a result of the amnesty. He said that in total 1350 prisoners would be released. The draft bill will not give amnesty for more serious crimes such as murder, burglary, sexual assaults and rape, Petkanov said.

Despite his assurances, Petkanov won only the unconditional support of his fellow NMSII members, who the day before the vote pledged to back the bill. The BSP showed some support, with the BSP-controlled Interior Ministry in general welcoming the draft bill but opposing the idea of releasing repeat offenders.  The MRF also stated support, through MP Hristo Bisserov, who was quoted by the Bulgarian-language Mediapool news agency as saying "it is very easy to say no to an amnesty draft bill and get the image of a crime fighter". This apparently was a response to right-wing MPs who said that the amnesty would bring criminals on to the streets.

Stoilov said that the actual reason for the draft bill was that prisons in Bulgaria were overcrowded and Justice Ministry wanted to clear them out. There are 11 500 people in jail at present, according to Justice Ministry data.